Quebec Mega Trail 100-miles: Sangé Sherpa sets new course record with sub-20 finish

UPDATED July 3, 2022

Sangé Sherpa arrived at the finish line at the Mont Ste-Anne ski resort Saturday afternoon in a remarkable sub-20 hours (19:35:52), in only the second running of the very demanding 100-mile course at Quebec Mega Trail. The Nepalese runner, who is based in France, won the Swiss Peaks Trail 170K in 2021 and now adds the QMT win and new course record to his resume, at age 40. QMT 110K winner from 2018, Jean-François Cauchon of Quebec City, was second today, also dipping under the previous course record with 20:05:14. (Cauchon also won the Bromont Ultra 100 miles and Harricana 125K in 2018; last year he was third at QMT 110K.) Bastien Olivier Hammond of Vancouver took third, in 22:26:45.

“I loved the first part, until about 100K,” Sangé Sherpa said after the race. “It was very beautiful. After that, I was tired… though some parts were very flat and runnable.” At one point, Cauchon was ahead of him, and they ran about 10 km together, he said. A veteran at this distance, Sangé has run 100-mile races all over the world, including the Diagonale des Fous 167K on Reunion Island, one of the courses in the Grand Raid Reunion Island, with which QMT has a strong relationship. Sangé Sherpa was part of a strong contingent of international runners at QMT, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

Appropriately, the race recognizes the top five men and women finishers in the 100-mile race. Yannick Bernard of St-Georges, Que. was fourth Saturday in 22:36:08, and Robin Fournier of Switzerland was fifth, in 24:25:26.

It was a fantastic weekend of racing in Quebec’s Beaupré and Charlevoix regions, and in spite of the thunder shower that forced a slightly earlier start for the 100-miles in Baie St-Paul (by 10 minutes) on Friday evening, the weekend was smooth sailing. Multiple race distances involving various start line locations make for an exciting day, culminating in a common finish line for 2,560 athletes from 15 countries at the Mont Ste-Anne, a 40-minute drive east of Quebec City. 

80K men

1. Joey Bellanger 9:04:49
2. Hans Christian Smedsrud 9:33:02
3. Samuel Audet 9:36:54 

80K women

1. Flavie Pelletier 11:38:42
2. Molly Hurford 11:51:56 (Hurford crossed the finish line first, but was assessed a 30-minute time penalty for not having an emergency blanket, which is on the mandatory gear list)
3. Mélanie Baetz 12:11:19

50K men

1. Jean-Philippe Thibodeau 5:01:49
2. Elliot Cardin 5:09:37
3. David Jeker 5:11:22

50K women

1. Katherine Short 5:40:42
2. Sarah Bergeron Larouche 5:44:51
3. Mélodie Gilbert 5:54:15

For results from the women’s 100 miles and men’s and women’s 110K and 80K, click here.

Full results can be found here.